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Tolkien Writing Tips, 'Sinners' Twin Shot Breakdown, & the Chilling "Genocide Speech" from 'Andor'

Author

Ryan Koo
May 12, 2025

Tolkien Writing Tips, 'Sinners' Twin Shot Breakdown, & the Chilling "Genocide Speech" from 'Andor'

Hey Filmmakers,

We’re back with more tips and tricks to help you level up your filmmaking game—whether you're writing, directing, or cutting it all together. There’s lots to go over!

First up—are you working on a big story? We’re talking big big. Like, you need to draw a map to visualize the sheer scale and scope of the world you’re creating? If so, J.R.R. Tolkien might be the best writer to glean wisdom from about worldbuilding, and it just so happens that we found some to share with you

Also, we break down how the “twin effect” was captured in Sinners (two Michael B. Jordans, guys!), and Tony Gilroy discusses that powerful “genocide” speech in Andor.

Let’s get to it!

🖌️ Screenwriting

One of the great joys of writing is working on a project so big that you get to build an entire world from nothing. This worldbuilding can be so much fun, as you play god and decide what things look like, how the land looks, and who lives in this magical or non-magical place.

But coupled with all of that is an epic burden.

It can be overwhelming to have to go through all of that stuff and to try to get it onto the page without forgetting anything.

Well, lucky for us, this old video of the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien, the brilliant mind behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, contains a ton of advice for us.

🗞️ Quick Reads for Screenwriting

• Jodi Picoult's Writing Advice Will Keep You Up at Night - If you lose sleep over it, it's time to write about it.

• Author Tom Perrotta's Advice on Becoming a Writer - The man behind Little Children, Election, and Mrs. Fletcher shares his wisdom on the written word.

• Rewriting Your Script? Then You Need This "Red Flag" Checklist - Sometimes you need a little guidance on your polish.

🎥 Cinematography

Let’s talk Sinners! It says something that in a movie where everyone is talking about its controversial ending, fun villain design, and this amazing juke joint scene, not many have really touched on just how they shot two Michael B. Jordans.

If you’ve watched Sinners and were blown away by this “twin effect,” the Academy released a short video showing the cinematography behind it. It’s definitely worth a watch!

🎬 Directing

The second season of Andor drops mostly weekly on Disney+, with a couple of episodes at a time, so the audience has a lot of time to steep in the show and the ramifications of each part of the story.

And boy, have we needed to take a minute between them.

The ninth episode of the season brought forward Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) to deliver a speech before the Galactic Senate, where she attacked Emperor Palpatine and his Imperial forces for committing a massacre of protestors on the planet Ghorman, calling it an “unprovoked genocide.”

It was an incredible speech, and the show’s creator, Tony Gilroy, talked about it in depth with The Hollywood Reporter. Read on to find out what he said.

🗞️ Quick Reads for Directing

• How Did 'The Studio' Accomplish That Golden Globes Episode? - This was such an impressive feat of scope and scale.

📚 Recommended Reads:

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